Thirteen Ed Online

As I was searching for websites to add to our list, I came across Thirteen Ed Online, and found myself slowly becoming drawn further and further into the website. This website offers both teachers and students suggestions for lessons, as well as materials for further learning. Immediately on the main page of the website do you see videos, lesson archives, and other resources beneficial for the classroom.

Under the section directed specifically for teachers are links to bring you to Classroom Project ideas, Lesson Plans, Videos, and Professional Developments. After searching through each of these folders, I find the one labeled "Lesson Plans" containing the greatest amount of sources for us as future teachers. When looking at each individual lesson, they are planned according to the time it should take to execute them (days, class periods, etc.), which standards they address, and the materials needed. They also section off the lesson into areas such as "Prep", "Steps", "Execution", and "Community Connections". In reading each of these sections, it caused me to re-evaluate just how much time and effort is needed to put together solid lesson plans. This website allows for future teachers, such as ourselves, to look into the organization and planning skills needed to formulate a solidly structured lesson.

In addition, each lesson addresses which subjects it could fall under. For example, one lesson entitled "Passionate About Shakespeare" has enough material within it to fall under an English, History, or Performing Arts classroom for grades 9-12. The fact that this is provided to the teachers, too, may offer suggestions for collaborations between teachers of different subjects. We have spoken about teachers of different subjects collaborating with each other on their lessons, such as a History and English teacher planning a lesson on the Holocaust. By using these lessons as a template, the process of executing the lesson will prove to be much more organized than just done on a whim. There are also lessons for teachers of Math, Science, etc. All you have to do is pick what subject you are looking towards and the list of them comes up on the site.

The only downside I may address is that some parts of the website specifically mention New York and their community. However, the material that it coincides with proves to still be useful for us. There is a conference coming up in a few days pertaining to thinkers, activists, and socialists: the annual "The Celebration of Teaching and Learning" conference. This website will provide video documentation of what was said and done here. Resources such as these will continue to help us as future teachers. We have to be aware of exactly what it takes to plan lessons, execute them, and outside activity going on which will benefit our understanding of education. I would definitely recommend this website for all of us to at least take a look at, even if we do not use the lesson plan ideas provided. They exhibit 'blueprints' for our future classrooms and additional resources for our lessons as a whole.